From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@sirius.com>
Subject: (whorl) revised relativistic travel times
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 12:25:09 

Well here's something we can talk about:

In OBW, the Rajan goes over some of the same stuff we've gone over with
regard to how Quetzal got onto the Whorl, that is, "in what year" and "by
what method."

The Rajan ends by figuring that the Whorl must have been just hanging
around in the system for 100 years (detail also matches Pas's planned
timeframe, such as we know).  This means that the flight-time was only
around 200 years.

So we will revise the figures worked out in the old, out of print "Quick &
Dirty Guide to the Long Sun Whorl":



         OBJECTIVE   SUBJECTIVE
LEG         TIME         TIME
boost     10 years      8 years
glide    880 years    216 years (a 4:1 ratio)
boost     10 years      8 years
orbit    100 years    100 years
-----   -----------   ---------
        1000 years    332 years

(Remember that the boost times are guesswork, but the boosting must be
relatively gentle--I was guessing 0.1 gravities.)

Now then, a 4:1 ratio suggests a velocity of around .97c (up a tad from the
previous calculations, naturally).

880 years at .97c = 854 light years.

I'm guessing that the boost stages would add 5 light years each.

The star of the Blue/Green system is thus around 864 light years away from
Urth.  Not quite a "light chilliad," but rather close.

=mantis=



*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.
*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.moonmilk.com/whorl/
*To leave the list, send "unsubscribe" to whorl-request@lists.best.com
*If it's Wolfe but not Long Sun, please use the URTH list: urth@lists.best.com